


Blood Brothers

by Asexual_Ravioli



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 09:37:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6748555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asexual_Ravioli/pseuds/Asexual_Ravioli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reiner and Bertholdt share a special childhood bond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood Brothers

Bertholdt still had the scar. They were eight years old when it happened, sitting cross-legged in Bertholdt’s garden.

  
“Hey, Bertholdt,” Reiner said. “Have you ever heard of a blood ritual?”

  
“No,” Bertholdt had said. “What is it?”

  
“We each make a cut in our palm and then push the cuts together. So we have each other’s blood in our hearts. We’d be blood brothers,” Reiner said excitedly, and when he pulled out a knife that’s when Bertholdt felt a chill run down his spine.

  
“Okay,” he said. He was nervous, but it was the kind of nervous excitement that being with Reiner brought. He always wanted to do scary things: jumping from the swings, catching snakes, picking fights with the older boys. And Bertholdt found himself doing those things out of a strange loyalty to his friend.

  
The day was hot and sticky, bees humming in and out of the pink azaleas Bertholdt’s mother had planted. Reiner held the knife, not even wincing as it dug into his palm. The boys watched wordlessly as blood pooled there.

  
Next it was Bertholdt’s turn. He gripped the knife gently, afraid of its power. He looked away as he did it, and felt like a coward for it.

  
“Whoa!” he heard Reiner say. “You cut deep, Bertholdt!”

  
Bertholdt turned his head to see. Indeed his hand was filling with blood, so much blood spilling freely, threatening to run onto the ground.

  
“Now we put them together,” Reiner said. So they joined their palms, interlacing their fingers together. The hot stickiness of the day melded with the warmth of their blood. “And now we make a promise. To never lose each other.”

  
“Okay, Reiner. I’ll never lose you.”

  
“And I’ll never lose you,” Reiner laughed. “There. We’re blood brothers now.”

  
They separated their bloodstained hands. So much blood, Bertholdt thought. He tried to stand, but he couldn’t. Panic rose up in his throat, but he couldn’t make a sound. He felt dizzy, and darkness overtook him.

  
He woke up to Reiner’s face, and the blue sky behind him.

  
“Hey. You okay?”

  
“I think so.” He sat up. He still felt dizzy, but it wasn’t as bad as before. “We’re blood brothers now,” and he was happy that it made Reiner laugh.

  
All these years later, he thought, and the scar’s still here. It was morning, gearing up to be another hot and sticky summer day. Bertholdt was spooning Reiner, his hand over his boyfriend’s. “I’ll never lose you,” he whispered in Reiner’s ear. “Not ever.”

**Author's Note:**

> asexual-ravioli.tumblr.com


End file.
